


White Beyond

by Paint_It_Yellow



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Gen, Nonbinary Character, Pokemon AU, Pokemon Ranger AU, he's only got like two speaking lines here but for any osamu fans i tagged him, i'm broadening my horizons truly, one of my few works that isn't soulshipping wow, sorta - Freeform, surprised he's got a tag congrats for him, they/them pronouns for yubel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 01:24:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20073829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paint_It_Yellow/pseuds/Paint_It_Yellow
Summary: Judai was always an 'act first think later' kind of guy which really explained a lot of things including, but not exclusive to, his current situation of hiking across regions only to find himself on top of a mountain in the middle of a snowstorm. His 'saviour' is none too pleased with him to say the least.





	White Beyond

Hiking up mountains wasn’t a thing Judai considered enjoyable but he was willing to do it for the sake of his passion. Hiking up mountains with knee-deep snow while a snowstorm was undoubtedly on its way was even less enjoyable and he was not doing it again no matter his passion.

The things Misawa said often went in one ear and out the other, but perhaps he had been right when he said that Judai was likely to get himself killed at some point or another just through sheer stupidity or, hey, maybe he had a death wish and he never knew it, could be either.

He shook his head and kept himself moving; he couldn’t waste time thinking now that he’d gotten so close to his goal. All he needed was to find some shelter before the storm came in and he could make the rest of his journey after.

Snow started to fall slowly- kind enough to warn him, but not kind enough not to fall- and he found himself running out of options. He’d brought three of his Pokemon along with him but none of them were scouts nor builders, there mainly as protection that he’d thus far found unneeded as the mountain had been unusually quiet after the start of his ascent. As the snow and wind picked up, he thought he had a good idea as to why.

The Pokemon in Almia, he’d been told, were much more aggressive than those in Sinnoh who’d mostly leave you alone if you seemed out of Pokemon but he remembered the last time he’d tried going to Snowpoint where he faced way too many wild Pokemon for his liking even during a snowstorm-albeit one more tame than this one was turning into. Must just be his luck he decided as he tried to hunch his shoulders as though they could be more up than they already were and tried to bury his face into his jacket as though it could get in there anymore.

He could have just stayed in Sinnoh, he supposed. It’d be safer; he knew the people and the terrain and the Pokemon, after all. He hadn’t even really said where he was going just that something interesting had come up. Maybe if he’d said ‘I’m planning on hiking across a few mountains, one of them insanely snowy, to get to another region for no particular reason other than I’m bored’ he’d be more prepared.

It had been what felt like hours upon hours before he caught sight of something that wasn’t snow. A normal person with a rational mind may think that it could be either person or Pokemon, more likely the latter considering that it was their habitat despite the human figure but Judai was no normal person and no one had ever accused him of having a rational mind.

“Hey!” he yelled, waving one of his arms frantically at the figure which had paused as soon as his voice reached it, watching him carefully, shifting as he did only to start charging as soon as it seemed to have a good look at him.

He never really never thought about it before but running through thick snow in a snowstorm is pretty hard, especially when it seems that each time you glance behind you suddenly there’s twice the amount.

It’d be a great time to have some spare berries or the like in his bag, Judai lamented, but while he had some he also hadn’t a clue how much longer he’d be walking until he reached civilisation where he could stock up on food. All he knew about the localities of Almia was that there were few of them and the nearest to the mountains he had crossed was supposedly Pueltown which was still quite a ways. Did Almians just never leave their towns? Judai could only wonder.

His pursuers weren’t even quiet about their apparent want to beat him up or whatever it was that Almian Pokemon did. He remembered being told not to go into tall grass as a kid but this was a whole other issue that he wasn’t prepared to tackle as either a trainer or a researcher.

“Out of the way!” he heard someone that could only have been human shout before he was given no option and was shoved to the ground, the hell-forsaken snow that was the bane of his current existence breaking his fall. He winced before immediately forgetting everything else, much more captivated by the figure above him decked out in snow gear more fitting and more worn than his.

“Sneasel, you know what to do,” they seemed to say, clear as day even through the storm. Judai could only guess as to what the person was doing, though it seemed to be going well as a Sneasel that he could only assume was theirs seemed to come back regularly with what could be described by some as a prideful look while others would call it more ‘shit-eating’.

“Hey,” a smooth voice cut through their thoughts and he found himself looking up at his saviour with their arms crossed. Their expression seemed vaguely concerned at first before it morphed to become much colder, like icicles almost; fitting, Judai thought. “What are you doing here?”

“Mainly research. Not really ‘here’ here for research, here as in the less snowstormy parts.”

The person clicked their tongue as soon as he finished speaking though Judai honestly hadn’t a clue why. Maybe they were really proud of snowstorms? He couldn’t see what was to be proud of there but hey, to each their own.

“What kind of research?”

“I’m researching how Pokemon live in their natural habitats?”

“Is that a question?”

“No?”

“We already have researchers up here studying Pokemon in cold climates, choose your next words very carefully.” The person claimed before he saw the other’s Sneasel inch closer to him. Great, one deadly situation to the next; just what he wanted.

“It’s the truth! I study Pokemon behaviour and I just crossed the mountains so I could study some of the habitats here! I just happened to find myself in a snowstorm s’all!”

The person’s top lip twitched in disgust before they brought a gloved hand to their forehead.

“I had guessed as much but not only are you Sinnohian but also an idiot,” they heaved in a breath and paused, silence rippling between the two. Judai let it sit for a moment before parting his lips to speak, though he was interrupted before he could start.

“Pick yourself up and follow me,” they said, not bothering to wait for him while he shuffled to his feet, even more weary than before.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

Nothing.

“I’ve got to call you something other than ‘you’.”

More of the same nothing.

“I’ll give you my name first, how about that? I’m Judai.”

“Do you know about the law of conservation?”

“Yes?” Well, he remembered it vaguely.

“Good, stop using up your energy then.”

The still unnamed Almian picked up their pace and continued to lead the way in silence. Were all Almians this prickly or was he just lucky? The only other Almian he’d ever met had been just like this at first too, after all. He wanted to continue asking questions until they reached wherever their destination was but had to admit that maybe asking a ton of questions right now would get him killed. Ah well. He’d find the time to ask the questions he wants.

He’d say it was quite lucky that it was only a few minutes after he’d given up on asking questions that they seemed to reach their destination. It seemed like a very small village but also not quite.

“This is… Pueltown?” he thought back to his map, mind a bit scrambled. The nearest settlement to where he used to be should have been Pueltown, right?

His guide gave him an odd look, somewhere between concern and cold shock. “Did you hit your head on something?” they demanded, taking a few strands forward to more closely meet Judai who only looked up at them in further confusion.

“The map said Pueltown should be closest but this…” He didn’t want to talk down about the place but it really didn’t live up to expectations.

“Isn’t it,” the other said. “It’s Shiver Camp. Temporary village we call it; it’s for the researchers.”

“You mean the ones researching Pokemon in cold climates you mentioned earlier? Where are they now?”

“Why do you want to know?” They seemed a bit off-put by the question.

“I told you, it’s what I specialise in! I’d love to do more cold climate stuff myself but I didn’t bring the right equipment for it, really wasn’t expecting it, y’know?”

He earned a strange look for that one but no response until they finally turned away from him once more, hesitating before beckoning him towards one of the buildings, disappearing into it shortly before he did himself.

The first thing that registered was the blast of warm air upon entrance, so welcomed by his body that he almost felt himself melt there and then, though he powered on. He found that he didn’t have any time to take in the majesty of the singular room as the entrance of the two hadn’t gone unnoticed by the two already sitting at a table, clothed warmly despite the warmth permeating the room.

“Who’s this?” the blue-haired one asked, eyes much more kind than his current guide- not that it seemed to be hard.

“An idiot from Sinnoh who got himself lost in a snowstorm in Hia Valley.”

“Oh wow, how’d that happen?”

“I told you, he’s an idiot. You’ll get along great,” the person spoke rather blandly before heading towards the stove, not bothering to continue the conversation.

The blue-haired man chuckled but didn’t say anything in his defence, pushing himself off his stool and to his feet.

“You take a seat and get yourself out of those clothes- actually,” he took a look at the two others in the room, “just your top layer. I don’t think we’ve got any spare clothes right now.”

He rubbed at the back of his head and punctuated it with an awkward chuckle and a ‘sorry’ before taking his coat and hanging it in front of the fireplace.

“Maybe they’ve done their washing in the other base,” the other guy spoke up for the first time, “I could always go and check.”

“Not necessary.” Judai turned to face the person who’d brought him here in the first place, still dressed in their outdoor gear but this time holding two mugs, taking a sip from one before slipping one before Judai as if he wouldn’t notice. “There’s always spare clothes in the Base, I needed to go there anyway to report my unfortunate encounter so I’ll bring back some.”

“Thanks,” Judai tried, but all it earned him was a glare before they sat their mug down on the table.

“Oh, and get that washing done soon or I’ll let you find your own way out of Almia Castle next time. And back.” The chills from the opening door seemed to really punctuate the threat to the other two but Judai was only left more perplexed.

The first sound after the door clicked shut was another chuckle from the man with blue hair which was shortly followed by the other man’s head hitting the table.

“Don’t worry, they’re just prickly,” the blue-haired one said again as he took a seat.

“Dude, they’re terrifying! Seriously, I don’t get why you dragged them up here in the first place- every time I see them I think they’re going to murder me which isn’t cool considering I have to sleep in the same room as them.”

“You’re giving a bad impression of them to our guest,” the other replied, gesturing to where Judai watched them, sipping at his hot chocolate at regular intervals in an effort to warm his thoroughly chilled body.

The offender looked over at him and fell silent for a moment before producing a single sound, “ah…”

“Sorry, he’s just still annoyed that Yubel beat him up the first time they met.”

“I feel I have the right to be annoyed that I got beat up!” The protest was ignored with a hand wave.

“So’s Yubel the one that just left?”

“Hm?” The man drew a chair out as he finally sat back down and looked at Judai for a moment before fully comprehending what he asked. “Oh, right, right, I forgot what they’re like. Yeah, that’s Yubel; that one over there’s Osamu and I’m Johan, nice to meet you.”

Judai shook his hand as he said as such, cracking a smile. “Same here, I’m Judai.”

“So what were you doing in Hia Valley then?” Johan asked, leaning forward slightly as his eyes sparkled with interest.

So he told him pretty much exactly as he’d told Yubel, though this time his audience seemed much more impressed? Was that the right word? He certainly did let out an ‘oo’ at his accomplishment of making it as far as he did at the very least. “I really got lucky with Yubel arriving as soon as they did, I’ll have to thank them for it at some point-”

“What’s it like being a researcher in Sinnoh? I imagine it’s quite different to here.”

“Normal, I guess? I mostly watch Pokemon, try and make sure habitats are upheld when I can. Trainer battles hold a bit of danger but most people know when and where’s fine. Is it different here then?”

There was a pause of thought. “I think so, but Yubel probably knows a bit more since they accompany more researchers here in Almia than I would. You have to be really careful as a trainer here, lots of locals don’t like them.”

“Are you not a researcher then?” Judai’s face dropped, having thought he’d get the chance to discuss habitat research with someone who knew a lot more about the region than he did.

“Not really? I mean, while it’s true I was invited here by the lead researcher I wouldn’t call myself one- I’m not even a ranger like Yubel is, I’m a trainer. I guess I have a bit of notoriety to my name in places like this though.”

“Really? What for?” Judai asked, jolting forward so suddenly their heads clacked together, though Judai didn’t seem to mind the sparkle he’d lost in his eye just moments ago back as he was filled with a new sense of intrigue.

“Ah, now that’s a secret.”

“C’mon man, you can’t do me dirty like that after telling me something like that!”

“You’ll find out eventually. Maybe.”

Judai pouted which only amounted to another chuckle from Johan who patted his shoulder good-naturedly. It was a comfortable atmosphere for the few moments it lasted but good moments do not always last and some of them just so happen to be ended by one of the parties being hit in the face with a pile of clothes.

“Your sacrifice will not be forgotten,” Osamu muttered to himself into his mug before continuing to try and stay as out of mind as possible from the return of Yubel who, thankfully, didn’t seem to hear him.

“Good that you’re getting along well since you’ll be taking him down to Pueltown tomorrow,” Yubel said to Johan before turning and instructing Judai to hurry and get changed.

“Why am I taking him?”Johan asked, brow raised.

“You’re not a researcher and you know the way back, I don’t see why not.”

“You’re both of those too.”

“I’m needed here to escort researchers.”

“I could always do that.”

“You know very well that’s not why you’re here.”

Johan shrugged.

“Don’t act so coy. I already confirmed it with the head researcher.”

“I bet I could convince him otherwise, considering.”

Yubel paused for a moment so slight most would miss it. “You couldn’t.”

Johan only shrugged again causing Yubel to click their tongue, grab their now room temperature mug from the table and stalk over to what Judai assumed was their bed- as opposed to the bunk bed opposite it.

“So uh,” he piped up after a length of silence, “if I’m leaving tomorrow, where am I sleeping?”

Johan opened his mouth to answer before Yubel swooped in to steal his chance, “you can take Johan’s bed.”

Honestly, Judai had spent many nights on the ground outside before in a sleeping bag- which he had with him- so he hadn’t meant ‘are you, who saved me from death and gave me clothes and helped me warm up, going to give me one of your beds?’ and more ‘is it alright if I sleep in this building because sleeping outside in the snow just doesn’t sound fun right now’.

“I didn’t-”

“He’ll be fine without it.”

“No, I-”

“Seriously.” Yubel seemed to be glaring at him for daring to go against their judgement but he couldn’t help but want to say something.

“It’s best you leave it, Johan’s probably fine with it anyway. He is with most things,” Osamu tried to assure him which, somehow, did not assure him at all.

“Sure, that’s fine with me,” Johan eventually threw in his affirmation which Judai thought would somehow ease the room but Yubel’s eyes seemed to become colder as they locked on to Johan who was smiling just as innocently and brightly as he had been when he and Judai had been talking, “especially since it’ll be you that’s taking him, not me.”

“I’m not taking him, we’ve been over this.”

“That’s what you say now.”

“That it is, and I’ll stand by it.”

“We’ll see.”

“You know, I could always just go down on my own, right?” Judai interrupted their odd argument. “I mean, isn’t it each of your jobs to be here and not taking me somewhere? I was just unlucky this time but I’m a well-seasoned traveller.”

The two paused as they let him talk, taking a moment to process it and even exchanging a look, though it didn’t appear they noticed they did it.

“No,” the answer came simultaneously which irked one much more than the other.

“Since you’ve been in our care already now we can’t have you just dying in the middle of nowhere or someone will definitely get on our backs,” Johan explained, “it’s not too much of a pain anyway. It only takes a few days tops if you know where you’re going and no one knows Almia better than rangers do.” He looked very pointedly at Yubel.

“As a traveller who’s been here for a year too long to be considered a traveller anymore I think you’re qualified to take him to the largest city in the region.”

“Are you saying that me, a mere traveller who tends to stay longer than they should, knows the region better than you, a ranger who studied it and regularly goes places?”

Yubel snorted as he started at the ‘mere traveller’ part though something told Judai the disbelief held there could be applicable to another part too for whatever reason- not that it was any of his business, of course.

“I’m saying that I was hired to be here while you weren’t so I need to do my job and not go off on a side quest.”

“Isn’t it the job of rangers to help those in need?”

“I’m already helping those in need, you can help this one in need. Happy early birthday.”

Johan shifted his eyes and took a breath before muttering, “you just don’t want to go down to the Union.” It was low and aimed clearly for Yubel only but he picked it up anyway.

“You’re approaching dangerous territory, Andersen,” they snarled in return voice just as low but considerably more dangerous as they took an assertive step forward.

“Aren’t I always?” Johan sounded a lot calmed than Judai thought maybe he should be considering the other looked like they were about to go feral. “I just think you need to stop-”

Yubel took another few quick strides forward to close the gap, bringing up a hand and jerkily shifting it up to his mouth, as though they’d changed idea on where it was to initially go halfway through their thought process. “We are not talking about this. Ever. You think you’re right but you’re not, you should stop trying to butt into other people’s business when you’re unlikely to hang around to see the fallout.” They turned to look at the room focused on the two and removed their hand from its place though they didn’t take the time to try and recompose themself. “I’m going to do another quick sweep of the perimeter before nightfall. If I hear any of you talk about what happened here you should believe me when I say you will face consequences.”

Even after they left Johan seemed rather composed in comparison, not even bothered by the threat which could only leave Judai guessing.

“Sorry you had to see that, guys. It could’ve gone worse, though.”

Judai did not see how it could have gone worse but he was willing to follow the optimism Johan emitted.

“Ah, also. Sorry for arguing about you like that. In all honesty I’d love to travel with you down to Pueltown, but I needed an opportunity to be selfish. I can’t tell you why or I’ll never be able to come anywhere near Almia again, but maybe you’ll find out.”

Judai looked at the door and paused briefly. “Could I even get a little of what you might be dragging me into.”

Johan smiled wryly and it struck Judai just how different it was to his other smiles from the day- all so dazzling and bright. It was somewhat nostalgic but he couldn’t say whether it was good or bad.

“Yubel graduated ranger school a long time ago, so they’re legally a ranger, but they’re not affiliated with any towns or villages anymore. The reason I won’t say, but I can say that I was part of it and it was a pretty big thing when it happened, if I put it in terms as vague as possible.”

Judai nodded slowly, trying to remember what had been told. It would be good if someone else was here who knew stuff- Misawa, Edo, Manjoume; maybe they could tell him what it all meant, but it was too vague for him. Maybe it was too vague for anyone even with some background knowledge.

“Don’t stress about it,” Johan said, his voice much softer than before. “They’re not a bad person for all they like to act it. They’ll make sure you get to your destination. You’re in safe hands, trust me.”

Judai wasn’t sure how much he should just someone he just met, honestly, but he had a history of it and it had never went wrong for him in the past, so surely it couldn’t now, right?

Johan left to fulfill his apparent threat by conversing with the head researcher and Judai sat in silence, gaze drifting to Osamu who had found himself absorbed in work but, for once, not quite finding it within himself to pick up conversation.

The next day, Yubel and Judai left as expected in early morning with nary a word exchanged.

* * *

They didn’t think it was their fault they got so angry- how could it have been? It was him who brought up the topic and them who riled them up and, sure, they could see it was bait, they knew it was bait, but they weren’t about to argue for the hundredth time their reasoning to someone who couldn’t listen to reason.

Their day started out fine enough and then they’d done the afternoon sweep and found a goddamned Sinnohian wandering about in a snowstorm, about to freeze to death. They’d like to blame the kid for the rest of their woes that day onwards but they knew it wasn’t their fault, that it was just Johan looking for an opportunity. Johan could always man up and just get what he really wanted to say out instead of whatever it was he had planned but whatever. Guess he’s just as much a coward as they were.

They knew what he was going to say as they argued. He always said the same things, but they always lost somehow. ‘Stop’, he’d said. Stop what? _Being afraid of what isn’t your fault_, the words echoed even from all the way back then and it drove them mad. They’d won so very few things why couldn’t they win this?

Setting off with the Sinnohian- Judai, Johan had reminded with a smile before they (begrudgingly) left- was more than bitter. It felt like waiting to chop off a limb, they weren’t surprised Johan wanted them to lose a limb though; he should, after everything.

They looked at Judai walking beside them through the snow, watching the boring landscape with intense interest and lighting up in a way they thought wasn’t humanly possible whenever a Pokemon ran by or showed up in even the slightest.

They let out another breath and watched the way the warm and cold mixed. What limb was to go?

**Author's Note:**

> So this is essentially a pilot of what I was thinking of doing as a proper story/series of one-shots-that-aren't-really-one-shots. Partially an excuse for me to flaunt the fact that I have 100%-ed Shadows of Almia (even though it isn't even hard to do so shut up) but also you can tell I'm into a thing truly when I make a Pokemon AU. Last time I did it was set in Ranger School and I had thought of doing that again cause it would translate well but I wanted to do things a bit differently.
> 
> I hope everyone here feels recognisable despite the fact that I had to change their characters a bit to fit the setting and circumstances of the possible plot. Especially Yubel. I couldn't have them go on a murderous rampage so now they're just really aggressive and mysterious plus some other elements so they have a bit more fall-back. I always kind of worry about characterisation but more so here I guess since it might lead to, and hear me out, actual development. Wild, right? 
> 
> Honestly I kind of like this one like it's not the best thing I've ever written but I like it cause it's entirely just something I made for me but I'm not expecting many people to read it since it's maybe more niche or so I found last time? Maybe I'll get lucky since I'm not using minor characters this time! 
> 
> Find me on Tumblr at [future-circuit!](http://future-circuit.tumblr.com/)


End file.
